Eye shield



May 17, 1960 Filed Oct. 14. 1955 A. G- LUISADA EYE SHIELD 4 Sheets-Sheet1 INVENTOR. A0605? 6. Aa/SADA Ma 1. ALJ

May 17, 1960 A. G. LUISADA EYE SHIELD 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 14,1955 INVENTOR. I AUGLST 6. 10/5404 W M KITTOR/VEJ/ May 17, 1960 A. s.LUISADA 2,936,458

EYE SHIELD 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 14, 1955 INVENTOR.

y 7, 1960 A. e. LUISADA 2,936,458

EYE SHIELD Filed Oct. 14, 1955 4 Shegts-Sheet 4 IN VEN TOR. A4605; 540/5404 United States Patent 2,936,458 EYE SHIELD August G. Luisada,Carbondale, Pa., assignor to Leonard P. Frieder, Great Neck, NY.

Application October 14, 1955, Serial No. 540,381

2 Claims. (Cl. 2-14) This invention relates to eyeshields. It isparticularly concerned with dustproof eye shields adapted to be worn industy atmospheres, to protect the eyes of the wearer from dust or otherairborne particles, while providing adequate ventilation of the spacebetween the shield and the wearers eyes to prevent fogging of the shieldand to promote the comfort of the wearer.

Certain shields embodying the invention are adapted to be worn with asafety helmet, in such a manner that part of the eye shield engages theshield of the helmet and another part of the shield engages the wearersface. Certain features of the invention have their principal utility inconnection with such an arrangement. Other features of the invention areof more general utility, and are adaptable for use with eye shieldswhich are worn without any helmet.

The present invention is an improvement on the eye shields shown andclaimed in the copending application of Walter C. Finken and Jackson A.Aileo, Serial No. 406,670, filed January 28, 1954, entitled Eye Shield.

An object of the present invention is to provide an eye shield includinga frame structure adapted to engage the face of a wearer closely andwithout leakage of air past the shield, but nevertheless with only lightpressure on the face and with improved comfort to the wearer. A furtherobject is to provide such a shield which adapts itself to awide varietyof facial contours.

Another object of the invention is to provide an eye shield of the typedescribed, including an improved frame structure for engaging the shellof a helmet closely and without leakage, and usable with helmets ofvarious shapes and sizes.

Another object of the invention is to provide an eye shield adapted tobe worn with a safety helmet and having a first portion adapted toengage the wearers face and a second portion adapted to engage thehelmet, and having one means for adjusting the pressure between thefirst portion of the shield and the wearers face and separate means foradjusting the pressure between the second portion of the shield and theshell of the helmet.

The foregoing objects of the invention are attained in the structuresdisclosed herein. (In these structures theeye shield frame is providedwith a face engaging flap of flexible resilient material. The flap has aface engaging portion having an arcuate cross-section which is convex onits face engaging side and which extends generally parallel to thewearers face. This flap is connected by one or more hinge structures tothe main portion of the eye shield frame, so that the flap pivots easilyabout the hinge structure when it contacts the face, and so accommodatesitself to various facial contours without discomfort to the wearer.

The portion of the eye shield frame which engages the helmet includes arelatively stiff portion whose inner edge rides on the rim of the helmetshell and a flange connected to the outer edge of said .stiif portionand formed of relatively flexible material which engages the "ice shellresiliently. Two lines of engagement between the frame of the shield andshell are thus for-med, thereby providing an effective seal againstundesired entry of air into the space behind the shield.

The shield is constructed so that the space between the shell and theface is ventilated through tortuous passages which effectively preventthe entrance of dirt, dust or other airborne materials but isnevertheless elfective to carry away heat and moisture from the spaceadjacent the eyes.

The frame of the shield includes an upper-rim adapted to engage thehelmet shell and a lower rim adapted to engage the wearers face. Theshield is mounted on the helmet shell by means of upper and lower setsof elastic straps. The pressure between the upper rim and the shell isadjusted by means of the upper set of straps and the pressure betweenthe lower rim and the face is adjusted by the lower set of straps.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent froma consideration of the following description and claims, taken togetherwith the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of an eye shield mounted on ahelmet being worn by a person;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the eye shield and helmet shell of Fig.1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken on the line I'II-IIIof Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view, similar to Fig. 3, taken on the line IV-lVof Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal cross-sectional view taken on the line VV ofFig.2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view similar to Fig. 3, illustrating amodification;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary elevational view of the eye shield frame of Fig.6;

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line VI'II VIII of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view similar to Fig. 6 illustrating anothermodification;

Fig. 10 is an elevational view of a modified form of eye shieldconstructed in accordance with the invention and adapted to be wornwithout an accompanying safety helmet;

Fig. 1 1 is a horizontal cross-sectional view on the line XI-XI of Fig.10;

r Fig. 12 is a cross-sectional view on the line XII-XII of Fig. 10; and

Fig. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line XIII-XIII of Fig.10.

Figs. 1 to 6 These figures illustrate a safety helmet generallyindicated by the reference numeral 1, mounted on the head of a person.The safety helmet may, for example, be of the type described in detailand claimed in the copending application of Leonard P. Frieder andWalter S. Finken, now issued United States Patent No. 2,739,309 of March27, 1956, entitled Headgear Structure.

Mounted on the helmet 1 so as to engage the upper portion of the frontrim of the helmet and also to engage the face of the wearer, is an eyeshield generally indicated by the reference numeral 2. The eye shield 2includes a Window 3 mounted within a frame which includes an uppertransverse frame member 4, a lower transverse frame member 5 and sideframe members 6. All the frame members 4, Sand 6 are conveniently moldedin one piece.

At the corner of the frame, i.e., at the junction of the transverseframe members 4 and 5 and theside frame members 6, there are fixedrivets 7 which hold on the frame anchor plates 8, each provided with anaperture 8a. The aperture 8a in each anchor plate 8 at an upper cornerof the frame receives a hook 9 oarried on the end of an elastic strap 10provided with a buckle 11 or other suitable strap length adjustingmechanism. The apertures 8a in the anchor plates 8 at the lower cornersof the frame receivehooks 12 on the ends of elastic straps 13 which areprovided with buckles 14 or other suitable strap length adjustingmechanisms. The opposite ends of the straps It and 13 on each side ofthe helmet are fastened, as by sewing, to a mounting tab 15 which isattached, as by means of a snap fastener 16, to the helmet shell 1. Itmay be seen that the tension in the straps 10 and hence the contactpressure between the transverse frame member 4 and the shell may beadjusted by means of the buckle '11 without substantially affecting thepressure between the lower transverse frame member 5 and the wearersface. Similarly, the tension in the straps 13 and hence the con-tactpressure between the lower transverse frame member 5 and the wearersface may be adjusted by the buckles 14 without substantially affectingthe contact pressure between frame member 4 and the shell.

The details of construction of the transverse frame member 4 are bestshown in Fig. 3. The frame member 4 comprises a relatively stiff,generally vertically extending portion 4a, an upper rearwardly extendingflange 4b and a lower rearwardly extending flange 4c. The verticallyextending portion 4a is made relatively thick and quite stiff so that itretains its shape under considerable stress. The lower edge of theportion 4a is provided with a groove 17 to receive the upper edge of thewindow 3. The margin of window 3 may be held in the groove 17 by anysuitable anchor means such as those disclosed in the copending Finkenand Aileo application, Serial No. 406,670 mentioned above.

The upper flange 4b is somewhat thinner than the central portion 4a ofthe frame member 4 and also more resilient. In its unstressed condition,flange 4b projects substantially at right angles to the vertical portion4a, and is adapted to be engaged and deflected upwardly by the shell ofthe helmet 1 when the eye shield is mounted in place. The flange 4b maybe deflected upwardly by varying amounts depending upon the contour ofthe particular helmet shell on which it is mounted, as indicated in thedotted line and full line positions of Fig. 3, which show thedisposition of the flange 4b on helmets of'two different contours. Therim of the helmet shell, which is usually covered by a grommet 18 ofrubber or similar material, engages the frame portion 4a at its innerside adjacent its lower edge.

The lower flange 40, when unstressed, projects rearwardly from thevertical portion 4a of the frame member 4 at an angle somewhat greaterthan a right angle. The inner end of flange 4c is joined to a flap 4d,which extends outwardly with respect to the space between the eyes ofthe wearer and the window 3. The flap 4d is provided near its free edgewith a face-engaging portion of arcuate cross-section having a convexsurface on its inner face-engaging side. The flap 4d is of veryresilient, easily deformed material. At the connection between the flap4d and the flange 4c, the material may be weakened by a crease 4e, asshown, or by providing a thin neck portion at that connection so thatthe flap 4d may readily bend about the crease 4e as a hinge. Otherequivalent hinge. structures may be used. While the structure has beendescribed as a hinge, and the action is analogous to that of a hinge, itshould be understood that all of the bending does not necessarily takeplace at the corners,

a's:itwould in a true hinge, but that some of the bending 4 may takeplace in portions of the material spaced from the corner.

The face-engaging portion is deformed or flattened slightly from itsconvex arcuate contour when it is in engagement with a face. Theresilience of the material and its contour should preferably be suchthat the angle between the face and the material at the edge of thefaceengaging portion is between 30 and 60.

The flange connecting the face-engaging flap with the main part of theframe may be replaced by any of several equivalent structures. Theessential requirements of such structures are that they have substantialflexibility in a direction perpendicular to the face and that theyresist substantial deformation in a direction parallel to the face.

More specifically, such structures may include a plurality of pleats orfolds, instead of a single flange. Fig. 9, for. example, shows anarrangement with two such pleats. The number of pleats may be increasedconsiderably, giving an accordion effect. A particular structureconsidered to be suitable comprises pleats arranged in a series of stepsalternately extending perpendicular and parallel to the face. In such astructure the pleats extending parallel to the face may be maderelatively flexible, while the pleats perpendicular to the face arerelatively stiff.

The center of curvature of the face-engaging portion is preferablylocated nearer to the free edge of the flap 4d than to the attachededge, so that the flap will be more easily pivoted about the hinge bythe pressure of the face. However, the flap also extends far enoughbeyond that center of curvature so that the edge of the flap will nevercontact the face. Such an edge contact would constitute a line of highcontact pressure, and is very undesirable.

The radius of curvature of the face-engaging flap should be at least ofthe order of one-half inch and may be as great as one inch or so. Theselimits are not rigid, but if the radius is too small, the pressurebetween the flap, and the face will be increased and will creatediscomfort. Too large a radius might shift the region of contact betweenthe flap and the face to an area which is more sensitive to pressure,for instance, across the nose, it might create pressure on a sensitivearea located downward along the nose from the bridge.

By virtue of the convex face-engaging surface of the flap 4d and thehinge structure 4e, the pressure between the flap and the face may bemaintained at a minimum while nevertheless insuring a firm positivecontact which effectively seals the space between the face and thewindow 3 against the entry of dirt or other airborne foreign substances.

The lower transverse frame member 5, as best seen in Fig. 3, comprises avertically extending frame portion 5a generally similar in structure tothe vertically extending frame portion 4a but considerably narrower. Theframe portion 5a is provided in its upper surface with a groove 19 toreceive the lower marginal portion of the window 3. The frame member 5also has an inwardly extending flange 50 corresponding generally instructure and function to the flange 4c and joined at its inner end to adownwardly projecting flap 5d which corresponds generally in structureand function to the flap 4d. A crease or other suitable hinge connection5e may be provided at the connection between the flap 5d and the flange5c.

The flaps 4d'and 5d and flanges 4c and 5c may assume various angularpositions as required to adapt themselvesto various facial contours onwhich they may be used. This adaptation is shown by the various dottedline positions in Fig. 3, representing three different profiles withwhich the device may be used.

There is shown in Fig. 4 a portion of the lower transverse frame member5 over the cheek of the wearer. Since the variations in facial structureencountered on the cheek are considerably greater than thoseencountered:

at-the forehead and nose, the flange c is made more flexible at thatpoint by providing another hinge 5 at the connection between the flange5c and the vertical frame portion 5a. As in the case of the hinge 5e,the hinge 5f may consist of a crease or other weakened portion of theconnection between the frame portion 5a and the flange 5c. 7

I The side frame members 6 are best shown in detail in Fig. 5. Theseframe members comprise horizontally extending portion 6a having a recess20 adapted to receive a side marginal portion of the window 3, an outerrearwardly projecting flange 6b adapted to engage the helmet shell andan inner rearwardly'projecting flange 6c. The inner end of the flange 6cis joined to a flap 6d which is adapted to engage the wearers face in amanner similar to the flaps 4d and 5d.

. .Theflange 6b corresponds generally in structure and function to theflange 4b on the upper transverse frame member 4. The flanges 4b and 6bare integrally connected at the upper corner of the frame as clearlyshown in Fig. 1. The side frame member 6, is adapted to fit against thegrommet 18 around the rim of the helmet shell, as shown in Fig. 5. Theflange 6b extends only about halfway down the side frame member 6, andtapers from a substantial width at the top down to nothing at the pointwhere it crosses the rim of the helmet 1.

Fig. 5 shows, at opposite sides of the figure, alternative forms ofconstruction of the side frame members. The structure described aboveappears at the left-hand side of Fig. 5. At the right hand side there isshown an alternative structure in which the side frame member isindicated generally by the reference numeral 39. This frame memberincludes an outer flange 39b which may be the same as the flange 6bdescribed above. The inner flange is constructed somewhat differentlyand comprises a short fold, or pleat 40 joined to the edge of themainframe member 39 and another fold or pleat 41 extending between thefold 40 and a face-engaging flap 38 which may be the same as the flap6d; The use of the two folds or pleats 40, 41 provides a slightly moreresilient structure than the use of the single fold or flange 60.

I The face-engaging flaps 4d, 5d and 6d, are joined integrally at thecorners of the eye shield, and together form a continuous band whichsealingly engages the face for circulation of air through the spacebetween the wearers eyes and the window 3. That space is thereof thewearer along a path which completely encircles his eyes. That bandextends across the forehead, downwardly and rearwardly across thetemples, back across the cheeks and over the nose. The structure shownreadily adapts itself to a wide variety of facial contours, and alwaysprovides an effective seal along the entire length of the path justdescribed, without being uncomfortable and 'without exerting more than alight pressure against the wearers face at any point along that path.

I, Fig. 6 illustrates one form of mechanism for ventilating the spacebetween the wearers eyes and the window 6. As there=shown, the lowertransverse frame member 5 is provided in its rear facewith an aperture21 which communicates witha vertically extending aperture 22 along theback Wall of the groove 19. The communicating apertures 21 and 22provide a path for air to enter the space between the window 3 and thewearers eyes, as indicated by the arrows in the drawing.

The upper transverse framemember 4 is provided with a similar aperture23 opening at its rear face and communicating with an aperture 24located along the back wall of the groove 19. The communicatingapertures 24 and 23 allow air to pass out of the space between thewearers eye and the window 3 and move into a chamber 38 between thetransverse frame member 4 and the helmet shell 1. The flange 4b of thetransverse frame member 4' is provided with a number of apertures 25which vent the chamber behind the frame member 4 to the atmosphere,thereby providing a complete path fore, adequately ventilated so thatheat and moisture appearing therein may be carried out to theatmosphere.

The apertures 21 and 22 are preferably located at the lowest part of theframe member 4. They should always be located below the eyeball, whichis the chief source of moisture behind the eye shield.

The chamber 38 between the frame member 4 and the shell 1 provides afurther safety feature under certain conditions of use. Those conditionsare found, for example, when the eye shield is used in a crop-dustingairplane, for which use the dust-proof eye shield of the presentinvention is particularly suited. Crop dusting work is in many casesdone in open cockpit aircraft. In any type of aircraft, the pilotfrequently has to lean out the cabin window to observe conditions behindand below him. Such a movement typically subjects the windward side ofthe eye shield to a stream: of high velocity air, building higherpressure at the entrance of ventilation channels. This high pressurepropagates through the channels to the inside space between the face andthe shield. Outside the shield, the pressure may be low due to thecurvature of the lens substantially parallel to the airstream.

This pressure difference tends to lift the shield away from the face.When a conventional eye shield is used, the pressure difference betweenthe external low pressure and the high pressure inside the shield tendsto aid the high velocity stream in tearing the shield away. However, inthe shield of the present invention, the chamber 38 then serves as apressure equalizer. If one corner of the shield is subjected to lowexternal pressure, additional air is drawn through the apertures 25 nearthat end of the shield, while the flow through some of the otherapertures 25 is reversed, so that they supply some of the additional airflow required by the chamber 38. The' pressure within chamber 38 dropssufficiently so that the tendency for the eye shield to lift away fromthe helmet is reduced.

Fig. 7

This figure illustrates an alternative arrangement of venting apertures,in which the straight ventilation aperture 24 of Fig. 6 is replaced by azigzag ventilation channel 42. The structure shown in Fig. 7 isotherwise similar to that shown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 8

This figure illustrates a modified form of arrangement of theventilating channels, in which the chamber 38 is connected throughcommunicating channels 42 and 43 to the space outside the window 3, andthrough another channel 44 to the space inside the window. This tends toequalize the pressure inside and outside the window, particularly if theshield is worn in a situation where it is subject to the impact of highvelocity air.

Fig. 9

This figure illustrates a modified form of eye shield generallyindicated by the reference numeral 27 and having an upper transverseframe member 28 provided with an inner flange 29 which is joined to aflap 30. The flap 30 is similar in function to the flap 4d of Fig. 3 andthe flange 29 is similar in function to the flap 4c of Fig. 3.

Flange 29 is modified in a manner similar to the flange 40, 41 at theright-hand side of Fig. 5,. in that it is divided into two folds orpleats 29a, 29b, providing greater flexibility of the flange and hence aWider range of adaptation to variations in facial contours.

The lower transverse frame member 5 is provided with inwardly extendingflange 5c joined at its inner end to a downwardly projecting flap 5dwhich corresponds generally in structure to the flap 30v Figs. 10 to 13These figures illustrate a modified form of eye shield embodying certainfeatures of "the invention and adapted to be worn without a safetyhelmet. The eye shield shown in these figures may, of course, be wornwith a safety helmet providing the safety helmet structure is such thatthere is no interference between the parts.

The eye shield of these figures includes a window 31 and a frameconsisting of an upper transverse frame member 32, a lower transverseframe member 33 and side frame members 34. Anchor plates 35 are attachedby means of rivets 36 to the side frame members 34. The anchor plates 35may receive a mounting strap or straps of any suitable construction,which may, for example, be a single adjustable strap extending aroundthe back of the wearers head. The upper frame member 32 is provided witha groove 37 in its lower surface to receive the upper marginal portionof the window 31. The frame member 32 has an inwardly projecting flange32a whose inner end joins a flap 32b. As in-the case of the flap 4a, theflap 32b is provided with a convex face engaging surface and isconnected to theflange 32a at a weakened hinge 32e which allows the flap32b to pivot readily about that hinge so that the pressure of the flap32b against the face is minimized.

The lower transverse frame member 33 is provided with an inwardlyprojecting flange 33a which is joined to a flap 33b generally similar instructure and function to the flap 32b. The side frame members 34 arealso provided with rearwardly projecting flanges 3411 joined to faceengaging flaps 34b generally similar in structure and function to theflap 32b. The flange 33a is made wider along the cheek engaging portion,as shown in Fig. 13, to accommodate wider variations in facial contoursencountered at that point.

As in the case of the frame illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6, the frame ofFigs. 10 to 13 is preferably molded in a single piece of rubber or othersimilar material which may be readily flexed to fit the face of thewearer.

While I have shown and described certain preferred embodiments of myinvention, other modifications thereof will readily occur to thoseskilled in the art, and I therefore intend my invention to be limitedonly by the appended claims.

'I claim:

1. An eye shield adapted to be worn with a safety helmet comprising awindow, a frame encircling said windoW, said frame including atransverse member having a portion adapted to engage the forehead rim ofa helmet and extending upwardly from said portion, and a flange offlexible resilient material attached to the upper edge of said framemember and having a normal unstressed position in which it extendsrearwardly therefrom, said flange being adapted to engage at least atits rearmost edge the outer surface of said helmet at a locality spacedupwardly from the forehead rim thereof, said helmet 'e'ngaging flangebeing resiliently bendably movable about its attachment to the frame andadapted thereby to conform throughout its length to helmets ofvarying-sizes and shapes, and means adapted to mount said -shi'eldon ahelmet.

2. An eye shield adapted to be worn with a safety helmet comprisingaframe, a window in Said frame, means attached to said frame about theentire periphery of the window and adapted to engage the face of awearer across the forehead, temples, cheeks and nose, helmet engagingmeans attached 'to said frame at the upper side of said window andadapted to engage a helmeton the head of a person wearing the eyeshield, and mounting means adapted for mounting said shield on saidhelmet, said face-engaging means including a flang attached to the frameand extending rearwardly there from, and a flap of flexible resilientmaterial attached along one edge to said flange and extending at anangle therefrom to a free edge, at least a portion of said flap beingadapted to engage a face, a first articulation connecting the flange andthe frame to permit bending movement of the flange with respect to theframe, and a second articulation connecting the flange to the flap topermit bending movement of the flap with respect to the flange, saidface-engaging portion of the flap having an arcuate cross-section convexon its face-engaging side and having the center of curvature of saidarc'uate face-engagingportion located nearer to the free edge of theflap than to said one edge, said flap and flange having substantialflexibility in a direction perpendicular to the face-engaging portion of theflap and substantial resistance to deformation in a direction parallelto the face-engaging'portion of the flap, said mounting means includingfirst and second strap means, said first'strap means being adapted toconnect the lower side of said frame to the helmet and adjustable tovary the contact pressure between the lower portion of saidface-engaging means and the wearer's cheeks and nose and effective uponadjustment thereof, while the shield is mounted on the wearers face, tobend said flap and said flange about the respective articulations and tovary the contact pressure between the face and said face-engagingportion of the flap, said second strap means being adapted to connectthe upper side of the frame to the helmet and adjustable to varythecont'ac't pressure between the helmet engaging means and the helmet,said first and second strap means being independently adjustable withrespect to each other. 3

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS GreatBritain Oct. --21, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OFCORRECTION Patent No 2,936,,458 May 17, I960 August Ge Luisada that thesaid Letters read as corrected below.

Column 1, line 33 for (33' read S, column 6 line for "high" read higher=0 Signed and sealed this 4th day of April 1961a (SEAL) A t ERNEST W.SWIDER ARTHUR W. CR'OCKER Attesting Oflicer ding Commissioner of Patents

